Housebroken

Book excerpt: The gnarly enigma of sustained love, the nightmares of loss or betrayalthese are the problems examined thematically in Housebroken, instantly pulling us into the complexities of intimacyintimacy which paradoxically repels and attracts. In richly detailed settings ranging from Aegean islands to Australian beaches, these stories deal with conflicted characters, many of whom see themselves as disconnected outsiders, emotionally landlocked or alienated like Molly, a young American expatriatein her heart shes Spanishbut where and what is home? Or the lovesick New England professor out of his depth in a seedy Southern steel town. Others flee danger from within. A Victorian scholar facing unnamed horrors coming after him From Below. Or Roberto, the poetry-quoting drug dealer never able to outrun his sexual obsession. A patriarch whos escaped the Nazis but not his punitive conscience. Life-lessons are learned & unlearned as these lovers and loners weave between hope and disenchantment, isolation and communion. Ultimately, after groping through confusing rituals, contradictory ground rules, each arrives at a revelation which illuminates (if not resolves) the passionate connections & disconnects all of us encounter in our lifelong pilgrimage of the heart.